À propos de l’œuvre
Water Lilies (Nymphéas, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1907 · MFA Houston 68.31 · W1703
Water lilies W1703hand painted reproduction
A column of white and purple sky is reflected in the center of the pool, between two masses of blue-green trees. A few pink water lilies appear in the distance, while large leaves and three light flowers float in the foreground. This vertical version from 1907 builds astonishing depth with the only mirror of water.
Look at the work
A reflection of sky crosses the pond between the trees and floating flowers
The light central area descends from the upper edge to the foreground, where it widens. The dark reflections of the trees frame it on either side. A line of small water lilies cuts the composition above the middle and suddenly reminds us that all this depth belongs to a horizontal surface.
In the foreground, the green leaves gain size and receive a denser material. The three light flowers are placed like points of light on a purple passage. The signature and date, bottom right, integrate with the gray blue of the water.
W1703 opens a vertical depth in a horizontal subject: the sky descends into the water, while the leaves mark the surface.
Composition, touch and light
What Monet builds behind the impression of snapshot
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
A canvas of the first major waterscape campaign
The MFA Houston links the work to the intensive campaign that led to the Durand-Ruel exhibition of 1909. Monet presents forty-eight views where the pool, flowers and reflections replace the traditional elements of the landscape.
The central reflection organizes the entire composition
The clear opening does not correspond to an actual path in the garden. It is the image of the sky on the water. The dark masses of the trees and the floating leaves allow the eye to gradually understand this reversal.
A signed, dated and inventoried version
The painting is inscribed "Claude Monet 1907" at the bottom right. It belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston under number 68.31 and corresponds to Wildenstein 1703.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used: the high definition view of the Houston version, converted into a real WebP of 3,504 × 4,000 px, without artificial enlargement.
A central gap lined with dark reflections
The light center forms a flexible axis, never perfectly straight. The sides should retain their blue-green depth without turning black, as they still contain traces of light.
Petrol blue, mauve, deep green and pink
The cold palette dominates. The small pink and white flowers create precise accents, while the central passage mixes pale blue, lavender and cream.
Vertical reflections facing horizontal leaves
Descending trails suggest the sky and trees. Water lilies are more opaque and more lateral. Their crossing creates the simultaneous sensation of surface and depth.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston notice identifies this work under inventory 68.31 and Wildenstein number 1703.
Water lilies, Wildenstein 1703
This oil on canvas from 1907 measures 92.1 × 81.2 cm. It is signed and dated lower right.
MFA Houston, inventory 68.31
The work entered the museum in 1968 by a gift from Mrs. Harry C. Hanszen. It is housed in the Audrey Jones Beck Building.
Durand-Ruel Gallery, Paris, 1909
The painting appears in the exhibition "Les Nymphéas, series of water landscapes by Claude Monet", which reveals to the public the radical framing of the basin without shore or horizon.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Houston version, inventory 68.31 and Wildenstein 1703
- The original vertical format of 92.1 × 81.2 cm
- The light central reflection maintained nuanced with blue, lavender and cream
- The leaves in the foreground made denser than the surrounding reflections
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies W1703 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1907 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92.1 × 81.2 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, United States |
| Inventory | 68.31 · Wildenstein 1703 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Petrol blue, mauve and deep green give this reproduction a contemplative presence, enhanced by a few pink flowers. It is suitable for a bedroom, living room or reading space with dark wood, beige and warm lighting.
